Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)
Airspace violations during the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)
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During the Russo-Ukrainian war, particularly since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022, the airspaces of non-combatant neighbouring countries, NATO members and endorsing Ukraine, have been violated on several occasions by Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
The violations mostly targeted Romania and Poland, key NATO members having the longest borders with Ukraine, but also Moldova and the Baltic states.
List of violations
| Date | Non‑combatant country | Committed by | Nature of violation |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 24, 2022 |  Romania |
 Ukraine |
On the starting day of the invasion, a Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 fighter suffered some technical problems which resulted in the loss of communication with its home base. The fighter accidentally entered Romanian airspace and was intercepted by two Romanian F-16 fighters which escorted it to the 95th Air Base in Bacău. After its technical problems were fixed, the Ukrainian aircraft was returned without its armament on March 1, being escorted by two MiG-21 LanceRs to the border where other Ukrainian aircraft took over.[1][2] |
| March 2, 2022 |  Sweden |
 Russia |
Four Russian Su-24s and Su-27s violated the airspace of Sweden above the Baltic Sea east of Gotland. The Swedish Air Force, using a JAS 39 Gripen, photographed the event.[3][4] |
| March 10, 2022 |  Croatia Hungary Romania |
Undisclosed | 2022 Zagreb Tu-141 crash: An unmanned drone, a Tupolev Tu-141, crashed in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, after travelling through Croatian, Hungarian and Romanian airspace.[5][6] Both Ukraine and Russia denied ownership of the drone.[7][8] Croatian Minister of Defense Mario Banožić said in an interview that the governments of Croatia and other NATO member states in the drone's flight path know who launched the drone, but the information had been declared a state secret.[9] |
| March 14, 2022 | Romania |
Russia |
A Russian Orlan-10 drone crashed in the Bistrița-Năsăud County. Initially thought to be a privately owned commercial drone, it was soon identified to be an Orlan-10 of the Russian army.[10][11] |
| April 29, 2022 | Sweden |
Russia |
A Russian Antonov An-30 violated the airspace of Sweden south of Blekinge in the Friday evening. The violation lasted for less than one minute.[12] |
| November 15, 2022 |  Poland |
Ukraine |
2022 missile explosion in Poland: A Ukrainian air-defence missile became out of control and crashed into a grain facility in the village of Przewodów, Lublin Voivodeship, killing two people.[13] |
| December 16, 2022 | Poland |
Russia |
During a Russian missile attack on Ukraine, Polish radar detected an unidentified object in their airspace, but neither the United States F-15 or Polish MiG-29 fighter jets operating nearby were able to visually identify it before it disappeared from radar. On April 27, 2023, remains of a Kh-55 cruise missile were discovered by a horseback rider in a forest in Zamość, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, 15 km west of near the city of Bydgoszcz (NATO Joint Force Training Centre headquarter) in northern Poland; according to the Polish Air Force Institute of Technology, the missile was likely fired by a Russian Su-34 during the December 16, 2022 attack on Ukraine but unintentionally veered off course, travelling through Belarusian airspace into Poland before crashing.[14][15]The discovery provoked a political controversy in Poland regarding why the airspace violation had not been made public at the time, and why Polish air defence and radar systems had lost track of the missile.[14] |
| February 10, 2023 |  Moldova |
Russia |
A Russian missile violated Moldovan airspace, resulting in the Russian ambassador to Moldova being summoned in protest.[16] |
| August 1, 2023 | Poland |
 Belarus |
Two Belarusian helicopters violated Polish airspace, with the Belarusian chargé d'affaires summoned by Poland in response.[17] |
| September 4–9, 2023 | Romania |
Russia |
A Russian drone fell on Romanian territory during the attacks on the night of September 3 to 4. The claims were initially denied,[18] however, on September 5, drone fragments were identified near the village of Plauru on the Ukrainian border.[19] Other drone fragments were discovered on September 9.[20] |
| September 13, 2023 | Romania |
Russia |
The crew of a Romanian Air Force helicopter identified fragments from a drone between the villages of Nufăru and Victoria, after a Russian attack on the Ukrainian port of Izmail.[21] According to the locals, the drone fell about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away from a military unit located in the area.[22] |
| September 30, 2023 | Romania |
Russia |
A Russian drone was detected in Romanian airspace by the Romanian defence ministry during an overnight drone attack against Ukraine.[23] |
| December 14, 2023 | Romania |
Russia |
A Russian drone violated Romanian airspace and crashed on Romanian territory, resulting in German and Romanian fighter jets being scrambled.[24] |
| December 29, 2023 | Poland |
Russia |
A Russian missile violated Polish airspace for less than three minutes, during which time the missile was tracked by Polish and allied radar systems. The Russian chargé d'affaires was summoned by Poland in response.[25][26] |
| March 24, 2024 | Poland |
Russia |
A Russian cruise missile, aimed at Ukraine, violated Polish airspace for 39 seconds, near the village of Oserdów. In response, Polish and allied aircraft were activated.[27][28] |
| April 17–18, 2024 | Romania |
Unknown | Three unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles were detected flying close to the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base on April 17. The drones, determined to be small commercial types, were subsequently brought down with electronic warfare equipment, although no remains were found. The following day, another similar drone was detected close to the base. The military prosecutor's office started an investigation following the events.[29][30][31] |
| June 14, 2024 | Sweden |
Russia |
A Russian Su-24 violated the airspace of Sweden east of the southern point of Gotland on the Friday evening. Two military of Sweden called the pilot and warned him, getting no reply. Two JAS 39 Gripen intercepted the Russian airplane and escorted it away from Swedish airspace.[32] |
| July 24–25, 2024 | Romania |
Russia |
Night attacks launched on Ukraine for two consecutive days and multiple drones observed approaching the Romanian border. On both occasions Romanian F-16s were sent to monitor the situation in Tulcea County.[33][34] Three Geran-2 drones entered Romanian territory on July 25 as claimed by the Ukrainian Air Force. The drones subsequently crashed and the wrecks were identified in the aftermath.[35] |
| September 7, 2024 |  Latvia |
Russia |
The drone crashed in the Rēzekne Municipality after flying through Belarus.[36] A week before the incident, on August 27, 2024, the Minister of Defense of Latvia announced a "concrete reaction" in response if incidents involving a Russian drone continue to be repeated on NATO territory[37] |
| September 8, 2024 | Romania |
Russia |
The drone violated the airspace of Romania, its wreckage is being searched for in a deserted area on the outskirts of the city of Periprava[38] |
| September 27, 2024 | Romania |
Russia |
A drone briefly entered Romanian airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine. Four aircraft were brought to monitor the situation.[39] |
| October 17, 2024 | Romania |
Unknown | A "small aerial target" was detected over the Black Sea, about 150 km east of Mihail Kogălniceanu. The object proceeded to fly 14 km in the Romanian airspace around Eforie Nord, later towards Topraisar. Spanish and Romanian jets were sent out to monitor the situation but made no contact with the target. The radar contact was lost near Amzacea. No impact zones were identified.[40] |
| October 19, 2024 | Romania |
Unknown | Another "small aerial target" was detected 45 km east of Sfântu Gheorghe, Tulcea. Spanish and Romanian fighters were again sent to visually identify the object but did not detect anything. Radar contact was lost south of Cogealac and no impact zones were identified in the aftermath.[39] |
| January 17, 2025 | Romania |
Russia |
The Romanian Ministry of National Defence announced that several Russian drones entered Romanian airspace. A possible drone impact zone was identified near Plauru.[39] |
| February 11, 2025 | Poland |
Russia |
A Russian Su-24 violated Polish airspace near Gdańsk Bay for one minute and 12 seconds, reaching 6.5 kilometres (4 miles) into Polish territory. Polish military officials reported that Russia had admitted the airspace violation and blamed it on a malfunction in the Su-24's navigation system.[41] |
| April 25, 2025 | Poland |
Russia |
A Russian military helicopter from the Baltic Fleet entered Polish airspace over its territorial waters in the evening. It was tracked by military radar and the Polish Air Navigation Agency until it left the airspace.[42] |
| July 10, 2025 |  Lithuania |
Belarus |
A drone launched from Belarus crashed shortly after crossing the border.[43] |
| July 21, 2025 | Romania |
Ukraine |
Four Ukrainian aircraft unintentionally entered Romanian airspace for a few minutes on the night of July 21 during a Russian attack in northern Ukraine. At around 3:00 AM, Romanian radar detected 12 Ukrainian aerial contacts in Ukrainian airspace on Romania's northern border. Two Romanian F-16s were scrambled from the 86th Air Base, followed by two Italian Typhoons from the 57th Air Base. The Ukrainian aircraft briefly entered Romanian airspace around the Sighetu Marmației and Vicovu de Sus areas without posing any threat.[44] |
| July 28, 2025 | Lithuania |
Belarus |
An explosive-laden drone launched from Belarus hit a military training camp in Gaižiūnai, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the Belarus border. In its path to the facilities, the unmanned aircraft overflew the capital Vilnius. The remains of the drone were not found until August 1st, and carried a payload of 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) of explosives, which was neutralized by military specialists. The unmanned aircraft was apparently of the Gerbera type.[43] |
| August 20, 2025 | Poland |
Russia |
A Russian drone, likely a Geran-2, crashed and exploded around midnight in Osiny, Łuków County, a village located around 100 kilometres (62 mi) away from the Polish border, 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Warsaw and 40 kilometres (25 mi) away from the Dęblin Air Base. The remains were identified in the morning on August 20 in a 8–10 metres (26–33 ft)-diameter burnt area. The drone was not detected by radar. Buildings from the village were damaged in the explosion but there were no injuries.[45][46] |
| August 25, 2025 |  Estonia Latvia |
Ukraine |
During a Ukrainian drone attack on Saint Petersburg and Ust-Luga, a drone violated Latvian airspace and travelled onward into Estonia, where it crashed and exploded in a field in Tartu County. Early findings from an Estonian investigation identified it as a Ukrainian drone that had veered off course due to Russian radio jamming.[47] |
| September 4, 2025 | Poland |
Russia |
Two Russian drones entered Polish airspace during an attack on western Ukraine. Polish and allied aircraft were scrambled in response to the attack and the drones were closely monitored until they left the Polish territory.[48] |
| September 8, 2025 | Poland |
Unknown | An unarmed drone with Cyrillic markings crashed in Polatycze near the Belarus–Poland border.[49] |
| September 9, 2025 | Poland |
Russia |
2025 Russian drone incursion into Poland: On the night of September 9/10, multiple Russian drones entered Polish airspace. Allied aircraft including Polish, Dutch, Italian and American began operating in the airspace, and air defense and radar systems were put on high alert.[50][51] At least 21 drones were recorded in Polish airspace.[52] The Warsaw International, Warsaw Modlin, Rzeszów and Lublin airports were temporarily closed that night due to "unplanned military activity".[53][54] Up to four Russian drones were shot down.[55]One drone crashed in Oleśno, near Elbląg, more than 200 km away from Poland's eastern border. Poland invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty as a response to this incident.[56] |
| September 13, 2025 | Romania |
Russia |
A Russian drone was detected in Romanian airspace. Two F-16s were scrambled to monitor the border with Ukraine at 18:05 and subsequently intercepted the drone.[57] The two aircraft tracked it for about 50 minutes from Chilia Veche to Pardina where it crossed into Ukraine. Permission was given to shoot down the drone but the pilots decided against opening fire to avoid potential collateral damage.[58] The Russian ambassador was summoned by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the aftermath.[59] |
| September 19, 2025 | Estonia |
Russia |
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace around Vaindloo in the Gulf of Finland for a total of 12 minutes; the jets reportedly had no flight plans and their transponders turned off. The Estonian Defence Forces published a chart of the flight showing the jets flying in a straight line parallel to the Estonia border from east to west.[60] The Russian Chargé d'Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia in protest and handed a diplomatic note.[61] Estonia invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty as a response to this incident.[62] |
| September 19, 2025 | Poland |
Russia |
Two Russian fighter jets violated safety zone of the Orlen Petrobaltic drilling platform.[63] |
| September 22, 2025 |  Denmark |
Unknown | Unidentified drones, suspected to be Russian, violated Denmark's airspace, specifically near Copenhagen Airport.[64] |
| October 6, 2025 | Lithuania |
Belarus |
Weather balloons carrying black-market cigarettes led to the shutdown of Vilnius airport. At least 14 balloons were launched from Belarus, resulting in the cancellation of 30 flights.[65] On 27 October, After the situation repeated itself numerous times throughout the month, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said that the incidents were "a tool of hybrid aggression against Europe” and that the Lithuanian army was taking "all necessary measures" to shoot down the balloons.[66] Lithuanian border guard closed the border with Belarus on 26 October for 24 hours, but Ruginiene prolongued the restrictions for three days. She said the government was discussing to extend the measure indefinitely. On 29 October, it was decided that the border would remain closed until 30 November 2025.[67][68] |
| October 17, 2025 | Estonia |
Unknown | Two unidentified drones overflew Camp Reedo, a US Army base in Southern Estonia; one of them was shot down with an anti-drone gun. Estonian security forces were still searching for the unmanned aircraft as of 29 October.[69] |
| October 23, 2025 | Lithuania |
Russia |
A Su 30 fighter and an Il-78 refueling tanker that departed from Kaliningrad entered briefly the Lithuanian airspace. Spanish Eurofighter jets took off for an air patrol of the area.[70] |
| November 11, 2025 | Romania |
Russia |
A Russian drone entered and crashed on Romanian territory just after midnight, on November 11, during an attack on Ukraine in the Izmail area. Weather conditions did not allow for NATO and Romanian fighter jets to be deployed. The drone fragments were identified in an inhabited area after the incident, as confirmed by the Romanian Foreign Minister.[71] |
| November 17, 2025 | Romania |
Russia |
A Russian drone hit the LNG Turkish tanker Olinda at anchor in the port of Izmail, on the Danube, setting the ship on fire. Although no violation of the Romanian airspace was reported, two Romanian villages on the southern bank of the river had to be evacuated as a security measure, given the risk of explosion.[72] |
| November 19, 2025 | Romania Moldova |
Russia |
A Russian drone entered Romanian airspace around 00:20 in the night around Vylkove, penetrated 8 kms. in Romanian territory around the villages of Periplava and Chilia Veche, then entered Ukrainian airspace again. Minutes later, it entered Moldovan airspace over the autonomous region of Gagauzia, flew over the village of Colibași and then entered Romanian airspace again minutes before 01:00, close to the border village of Oancea. Four jets, two Romanian and two German, were scrambled to intercept it, but signals from the drone were lost, and it is unknown what happened to it. Romanian authorities launched a search for possible impact zones.[73] |
| November 22, 2025 |  Netherlands |
Unknown | Several drones overflew Volkel Air Base, home of Royal Dutch Air Force and USAF squadrons. The Dutch military on the ground opened fire on the incursors, but no wreckage was found.[74] The airport of Eindhoven was shut down for several hours.[75] |
| November 24, 2025 | Estonia |
Russia |
Two Italian Eurofighter Typhoons intercepted a Russian "special" trainer (dubbed by NATO as "Black Pearl") escorted by a pair of Su-30SM2 and Tu-134UBL fighters flying over Ämari as part of Operation East Flank.[76][77] |
| November 25, 2025 | Moldova |
Russia |
Around 09:00 in the morning, a Russian drone crashed on the roof of a house in the village of Cuhureștii de Jos, located 20 kms. from the Ukrainian border. No people were injured as the drone did not explode, and people in the proximity of the impact zone were evacuated.[78]Six drones were recorded as violating Moldovan airspace in that morning. |
| November 25, 2025 | Romania |
Russia |
Hours before the incident in neighbouring Moldova, two drones were detected in Romania. The first one entered Romanian airspace at around 06:30 AM around Chilia Veche, Tulcea County, it was tracked by German Eurofighters but the drone re-entered Ukrainian airspace. Minutes later, another drone that may had also penetrated Moldovan airspace was detected in Galați County, heading west. Two Romanian F-16s were scrambled for monitoring, but had no visual contact. At 08:50 AM, the drone was caught on camera by a bypasser over the city of Tecuci, after the Government launched a RO-Alert alarm for Vrancea County. This incursion was the deepest into Romanian territory since the escalation of the war in February 2022.[79]After four hours into Romanian territory, the drone crashed in Vaslui County, in the courtyard of a local from the village of Puiești.[80] |
| November 29, 2025 | Lithuania |
Belarus |
Vilnius airport was closed once again, this time for 11 hours, due to meteorological balloons launched from Belarus. Lithuania's deputy Foreign Minister, Taurimas Valys, said that the incident was part of "a cynical hybrid attack against our economy, aviation security, and the entire nation".[81] The following day, Belarusian officials claimed that a drone launched from Lithuania and carrying a camera and "extremist printed materials" landed near Grodno.[82] Russian sources reported that the aerial vehicle was "a reconnaissance drone manufactured in Germany".[83] The director of the Lithuanian drone maker company Granta Autonomy later confirmed the drone was a Hornet XR, a model procuced by Granta, but concluded that the drone was somehow modified and the incident was probably a provocation staged by Belarus.[84] |
| December 1, 2025 |  Germany |
Russia |
Three suspected Russian drones[85] overflew the site of the deployment of anti-ballistic Arrow-3 missiles at the German Air Force base of Annaburg, Saxony-Anhalt. A Bundeswehr's rapid reaction detachment launched a drone to intercept the unmanned aircraft. After making visual contact with one of the intruders through their own drone, the German troops attempted to shoot down them with G27P assault rifles fitted with Israeli Smash X4 smart sights, to no avail.[86][87][85] |
| December 3, 2025 | Lithuania |
Belarus |
Vilnius airport operations were temporarily shut down at evening for the tenth time in two months after another suspected incursion of weather balloons from Belarus.[88] |
| December 4, 2025 |  France |
Unknown | The French naval base at l'Île Longue, Finistere, Brittany, home of the four Le Triomphant-class nuclear submarines, was overflown by five unidentified drones. There are reports of naval troops firing at the intruders. Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin confirmed that the drones were "intercepted" by personnel at the base, though she didn´t mention whether it means they were shot down, jammed or neutralized in another way.[89][90][91][92] |
| December 15, 2025 |  Turkey |
Russia |
An out-of-control drone was shot down by a Turkish Air Force F-16 over the Black Sea near Çankırı on December 15, after it entered Turkish airspace. Two other drones were found crashed on 19 and 20 December in Kocaeli and Balıkesir, repectively. Turkey's interior minister identified the drone found at Kocaeli as a Russian-made Orlan-10.[93] |
| December 25, 2025 | Poland |
Belarus |
According to Poland's National Security Bureau, dozens of objects, four of them identified as smuggling balloons, entered Polish airspace from Belarus, in a move described by Polish officials as "a provocation disguised as a smuggling operation".[94] |
| February 25, 2026 | Romania |
Russia |
A Russian drone entered Romanian airspace minutes before 6 PM over Sfântu Gheorghe, tens of kilometres from the Romanian-Ukrainian border, and left it about 20 minutes later over Sulina, continuing to voyage over the Romanian Exclusive Economic Zone. Residents of Tulcea County were advised through the RO-Alert system to pay attention to objects falling from the sky. The drone penetrating Romanian airspace from over the Black Sea comes two weeks after fragments of a Russian drone drifted ashore near Mamaia, Constanța County.[95][96] |
| February 26, 2026 | Sweden
|
Russia |
Øresund drone incident: The Swedish Navy[97] patrol boat HSwMS Rapp neutralized a Russian drone by jamming it over the Oresund Strait, after the unmanned aircraft was launched from the Russian intelligence-gathering ship Zhigulevsk, which had been tracked by the Swedish vessel. The incident was classified as a "serious security alert" by the authorities. According to them, the Swedish ship "took countermeasures to disrupt the drone". The interception took place 7 miles (11 km) away from the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, at the time in a stopover at Malmö and apparently the target of the reconnaissance drone.[98][99][100][101][102] |
| February 26–27, 2026 | Romania |
Russia |
In the course of Russian airstrikes on Ukraine Danube ports, the Romanian Air Force scrambled F-16 fighter jets from Fetești Air Base when a Russian drone briefly travelled through Romanian airspace. The incident triggered an air alert in Tulcea County, but the drone eventually crossed the Romanian border to reenter Ukraine.[103] The following day. a Russian drone flying towards Romania was downed by a Ukrainian missile 100 metres from the Romanian village of Chilia Veche. Once again, F-16 fighters took off from Fetești to monitor the airspace, while specialized teams were put on alert to search for fragments of the drone that could have fallen on Romanian soil.[104] |
| March 13, 2026 | Romania |
Russia |
A Russian drone was caught on camera by a resident of Pardina while flying low over the Romanian village. An alert was previously triggered for the Chilia Veche-Vylkove area of the Romanian-Ukrainian border, with a high possibility of drone impacts on Romanian territory. Two Romanian F-16s, followed by two German Eurofighters, were scrambled to monitor the airspace.[105] |
| March 17, 2026 | Moldova |
Russia |
A Russian Geran 2 fell near the village of Tudora, Ștefan Vodă district, close to the state border. Moldova summoned the Russian ambassador for a meeting and delivered a formal protest note.[106] |
| March 18, 2026 | Estonia |
Russia |
The Estonian Defense Forces reported on March 19 that a Russian Su-30 fighter jet violated Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland near Vaindloo Island on March 18. The Russian aircraft had no published flight plans and no two-way radio contact with Estonian air traffic control. [107] |
| March 21, 2026 | Poland |
Belarus |
Polish authorities reported on March 21 that they found five balloons across Podlaskie Voivodeship along Poland’s eastern border with Belarus. [108] |
| March 23, 2026 | Lithuania |
Ukraine |
2026 Ukrainian drone incursion into Baltic states: Night-time security camera footage shows a drone that had entered the country’s airspace crashing into the frozen Lake Lavysas, some 20 km (12 miles) from the border with Belarus, and exploding. According to a Lithuanian army spokeperson, given the proximity of the border, the unmanned aircraft likely came from Belarus.[109] On March 24, Lituanian Prime Minister reported that it was a Ukrainian drone aimed to Russia that strayed its flight path. She added that "This is not a local incident, this is a part of wider security picture. Russian aggression against Ukraine creates additional risks for the whole region".[110] |
| March 25, 2026 | Estonia
|
Ukraine |
2026 Ukrainian drone incursion into Baltic states: A drone coming from Russia's airspace hit a chimney of the Auvere power plant in Estonia, near Narva, while another, also from Russia, crashed in Latvia. The incidents occurred the same day that Ukrainian forces carried out a massive drone attack on the Russian oil export hub of Ust-Luga, in the Baltic Sea.[111] The drones could have been deflected or actively redirected by Russian GPS jammers.[112] |
| March 26, 2026 | Romania |
Russia |
A Russian drone entered Romanian airspace at 00:44 and crashed four kilometres into Romanian territory, near the village of Parcheș. No victims or material damage was reported despite the drone detonating.[113] |
| March 29, 2026 |  Finland |
Ukraine |
2026 Ukrainian drone incursion into Baltic states: Several unidentified drones violated Finland’s airspace near its southeastern border with Russia, with at least two crashing near Kouvola; Finnish authorities launched an investigation and scrambled F/A-18 Hornet jets to identify the objects. The following day, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine spokesperson Georgiy Tykhyi confirmed the drones were Ukrainian and that they had apologised to Finland for the incident.[114]Prime Minister Petteri Orpo tied the events to Ukrainian operations against nearby Russian targets, noting that the drones may have strayed into Finland’s airspace due to Russian electronic countermeasures.[115] |
| April 10, 2026 | Poland |
Russia |
A package of Polish F-16 scramble to intercept an Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft flying with its transponder turned off. A similar incident had taken place on April 8.[116] |
| April 16–17, 2026 | Romania |
[117][118][119] | |
| April 25, 2026 | Romania |
Russia |
In the morning of April 25, Romanian radar detected Russian drones flying close to the border during an attack on Ukrainian ports. As a result, two RAF Eurofighter Typhoons on Air Policing missions based at the 86th Air Base were ordered to take off by the Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón and local anti-air defences were placed in firing positions. Ground radar tracked 15 drones in Ukrainian airspace over Reni. The British fighters also picked up a radar contact over Ukrainian territory some 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from Reni and received authorisation to neutralise the target, but came back to the base without engaging. Subsequently, one drone continued flying at low altitude over Lake Brateș and hit a house and a power pole in the Bariera Traian quarter of Galați.[120][121] This was the first occasion that a Russian drone incident results in damage of property in Romania.[122]
Fragments of another drone were also found in Văcăreni, Tulcea County. In both cases, the civilian population in the areas was evacuated before the remains were removed by specialist teams and safely disposed off.[123][124] The Russian ambassador was summoned by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the aftermath.[125] A second drone with explosives on board was identified near Văcăreni on April 26. It was destroyed by an SRI pyrotechnics team.[126] |
| May 3, 2026 | Romania |
Unknown | An unmarked drone without explosives fell about 20 kilometres deep into Romanian territory, near the village of Șerbăuți in Suceava County. It was the third time only since the start of the conflict that the Romanian airspace is violated via the north section of the border with Ukraine.[127] |
| May 3, 2026 | Finland |
[128][129] | |
| May 7, 2026 | Latvia |
Ukraine |
2026 Ukrainian drone incursion into Baltic states: An undetermined number of drones entered Latvian airspace from Russia, one of them hitting an oil storage facility at Rezekne, setting it on fire[130] and damaging four empty tanks. At least another drone crashed on Latvian soil. French military aircraft took off to face the threat.[131]
Shortly after the incident, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Ukraine used Latvian airspace to conduct drone strikes on civilian targets in Saint Petersburg. A later Russian report added that six drones were picked up by Russian air defences over Latvian territory, and that one of them, a Ukrainian An-196 Liutyi long-range attack drone, was shot down when entering Russian airspace. The other five disappeared over Rezekne.[132] Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha later claim that Ukrainian drones had entered Latvia as a result of Russian electronic jamming that redirected the unmanned aircraft to Latvian airspace.[133] Lithuanian military expert Vaidotas Malinionis said that Russia is taking advantage of the stray drone issue to put pressure on NATO by claiming that the Baltic states are allowing Ukrainian drones to transit through their airspaces. According to Malinionis, the Russian Army could just disrupt the unmanned aircraft direction by jamming and then leverage the incidents “to create some kind of pressure on us and to make us feel uneasy”.[134] |
| May 8, 2026 | Poland |
Russia |
A Russian reconnaisance drone fell on Polish soil near the village of Oseka, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, shortly after flying undetected over the border with the Russian region of Kaliningrad. Military Gendarmerie, firefighters, and bomb disposal teams inspected the unmanned aircraft and determined it posed no threat. The drone was fitted with cameras and was marked with Russian inscripts.[135] |
| May 17, 2026 | Lithuania |
Ukraine |
[136][137] |
| May 17, 2026 | Latvia |
[138][139] | |
| May 19, 2026 | Estonia |
Ukraine |
2026 Ukrainian drone incursions into Baltic states: A Ukrainian drone was shot down by a Romanian F-16 fighter jet. Two Romanian jets from the Carpathian Vipers detachment on the Baltic Air Policing mission over Estonia were scrambled by the Combined Air Operations Center Uedem before the decision was taken to shoot down the drone.[140] It was for the first time during the war a drone is shot down in Estonia by NATO aircraft. The drone had entered the southeastern part of the country coming from Russia under conditions of heavy Russian electronic warfare, and was tracked by NATO surveillance equipment.[141] The Ukrainian Minister of Defence issued an apology in the aftermath.[142] |
| May 19, 2026 | Latvia |
A Russian drone crossed into Latvian airspace, sparking a border-region alert simultaneously with a drone shootdown in Estonia. The incident disrupted local operations—halting train services, pausing ninth-grade exams, and closing shops—while officials remained uncertain if it was the identical aircraft later downed over Estonia.[143] Latvian authorities later said it found no evidence that a drone had entered its air space.[144] | |
| May 20, 2026 | Lithuania |
Unknown | Lithuania issued an "red" (highest[145]) air warning after a drone violated the country's airspace.[146] It was for first time from the restoration of Lithuanian state.[147][148] Due to air raid warning, air traffic at Vilnius Airport, train services around the capital, and working of supermarkekts were temporarily suspended.[149] In some parts of Lithuania, people were asked to go to the shelter or other safe place using wireless emergency alert system (cell broadcast technology). NATO jets has been used to try to shoot the drone, but did not succed.[150] |
| May 21, 2026 | Lithuania Latvia |
Unknown | Drone alerts were issued in some parts of Lithuania and Latvia; NATO aircraft took off to face the threat.[151][152][153] |
| May 23, 2026 | Latvia |
Unknown | A drone plummeted into the Lake Drydzis in Kombuliai rural municipality and exploded on impact. A search operation was launched involving a drone of the State Police, a boat of the State Fire and Rescue Service, and members of the National Armed Forces. Debris purportedly from the drone was recovered.[154][155] |
| May 23, 2026 | Lithuania |
Belarus |
Lithuania border guards manning a border post at Purvėnai, in the Šalčininkai District, brought down a homemade drone coming from Belarus after receiving an alert from the Lithuanian Air Force. The drone, believed to belong to smugglers, was neutralized when approaching the border post at Eišiškės and fell near the village of Dumblé. A report from Lithuania's State Border Guard Service reveals that 18 unmanned aerial vehicles carrying smuggled goods from Belarus have been downed by the authorities since early 2026, compared to 59 cross-border drones intercepted in 2025.[156][157]
On May 26, 2026, Ursulla von der Leyen visited Lithuania in due to violations of EU airspace by drones.[158] She met leading politicans from all of the Baltic countries.[159] |
| May 27, 2026 | Finland |
Russia |
Finland's defence forces reported that a Russia aircraft violated Finland's airspace while taking a safe route during a thunderstorm off the coast of Porkkala, in the Gulf of Finland. The Finnish Air Force launched an "operational flight" in order to deal with the incident.[160][161][162] |
| May 28, 2026 | Romania |
Unknown | A drone without explosives was found in the area of Băsești, Maramureș County.[163][164] |
| May 29, 2026 | Romania |
Russia |
Several drones were detected by radar near the Romanian border during a Russian attack on Ukrainian ports. Two F-16 fighters supported by an IAR 330 SOCAT helicopter took off in response.[165] One Russian Shahed entered Romanian airspace and hit an apartment building in Galați, southeast Romania. Two people were wounded. A fire triggered by the drone explosion was quickly extinguished and about 70 people were evacuated.[166][167] Five cars were also damaged in the attack. Romanian foreign minister Oana Țoiu summoned the Russian ambassador in the country, and described the action as "a grave and reckless escalation".[168]
Following the meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT), convened in the aftermath of the incident, President Nicușor Dan declared the Russian consul-general of Constanța a persona non grata and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate.[169] Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the drone could be Ukrainian and called for an investigation.[170] |